Wafer-level package structure

ABSTRACT

Wafer-level packaging structure is provided. First chips are bonded to the device wafer. A first encapsulation layer is formed on the device wafer, covering the first chips. The first chip includes: a chip front surface with a formed first pad, facing the device wafer; and a chip back surface opposite to the chip front surface. A first opening is formed in the first encapsulation layer to expose at least one first chip having an exposed chip back surface for receiving a loading signal. A metal layer structure is formed covering the at least one first chip, a bottom and sidewalls of the first opening, and the first encapsulation layer, followed by an alloying treatment on the chip back surface and the metal layer structure to form a back metal layer on the chip back surface.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/228,059, filed on Dec. 20, 2018, which is a continuation applicationof PCT Patent Application No. PCT/CN2018/113107, filed on Oct. 31, 2018,which claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 201811026716.3,filed on Sep. 4, 2018, the entirety of all of which is incorporatedherein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to the field of semiconductortechnologies and, more particularly, relates to a wafer-level packagestructure.

BACKGROUND

With the development of ultra-large-scale integrated circuits, thefeature size of integrated circuits continues to decrease andrequirements for packaging technologies of integrated circuits areincreasing correspondingly. Conventional packaging technologies includeball grid array package (BGA), chip scale package (CSP), wafer levelpackage (WLP), three-dimensional (3D) package and system-in-package(SiP), etc.

At present, in order to meet the goal of low cost, high reliability,fast package and high density of integrated circuit packaging, advancedpackaging methods mainly use wafer-level system-in-package (WLSiP).Comparing with conventional system-in-package, wafer-levelsystem-in-package, a packaging integration process is completed onwafers, which has advantages including greatly reducing the area ofpackage structures, reducing manufacturing costs, optimizing electricalperformance and performing batch manufacturing, etc. This maysignificantly reduce workload and equipment requirements.

SUMMARY

One aspect of the present disclosure includes a wafer-level packagingmethod. The method includes: providing a device wafer and a plurality offirst chips bonded to the device wafer, where a first encapsulationlayer covering the first chips is on the device wafer, the first chip ofthe plurality of first chips includes a chip front surface with a formedfirst pad and a chip back surface opposite to the chip front surface,and the chip front surface faces the device wafer; etching the firstencapsulation layer to form a first opening exposing at least one firstchip of the plurality of first chips in the first encapsulation layer,where the chip back surface exposed by the first opening is used forreceiving a loading signal; forming a metal layer structure covering theat least one first chip exposed by the first opening, a bottom andsidewalls of the first opening and a top of the first encapsulationlayer; performing an alloying treatment on the chip back surface of theat least one first chip and the metal layer structure, where a portionof the metal layer structure on the chip back surface becomes a backmetal layer; and after the alloying treatment, forming a secondencapsulation layer covering the back metal layer in the first opening,where the second encapsulation layer further covers a remaining portionof the metal layer structure on the top of the first encapsulationlayer.

Another aspect of the present disclosure includes a wafer-level packagestructure. The structure includes: a device wafer; a plurality of firstchips, bonded to the device wafer, where the first chip of the pluralityof first chips includes a chip front surface with a formed first pad anda chip back surface opposite to the chip front surface, and the chipfront surface faces the device wafer; a first encapsulation layer,formed on the device wafer and covering the first chips, where the firstencapsulation layer has a first opening exposing at least one first chipof the plurality of first chips and the chip back surface exposed by thefirst opening is connected to a loading signal; a metal layer structure,covering the at least one first chip exposed by the first opening, abottom and sidewalls of the first opening and a top of the firstencapsulation layer, where the metal layer structure includes a backmetal layer alloyed with the chip back surface by an alloying treatmentbetween the chip back surface and a portion of the metal layer structureon the chip back surface; and a second encapsulation layer, formed inthe first opening, covering the back metal layer, and further coveringthe metal layer structure on the top of the first encapsulation layer.

Other aspects or embodiments of the present disclosure can be understoodby those skilled in the art in light of the description, the claims, andthe drawings of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following drawings are merely examples for illustrative purposesaccording to various disclosed embodiments and are not intended to limitthe scope of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 1-7 illustrate structural schematics corresponding to structuresat certain stages of an exemplary wafer-level packaging method accordingto various disclosed embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIGS. 8-11 illustrate structural schematics corresponding to structuresat certain stages of another exemplary wafer-level packaging methodaccording to various disclosed embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of thedisclosure, which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whereverpossible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout thedrawings to refer to the same or like parts.

The wafer-level packaging structures mainly include a device wafer and aplurality of chips bonded to the device wafer, and further include anencapsulation layer which is on the device wafer and covers the chips.The encapsulation layer covers the chips. Therefore, in the wafer-levelpackaging structures, it is difficult to load a signal (for example, aground signal or a voltage signal) to a back surface of the chips.

The present disclosure provides a wafer-level packaging method and awafer-level package structure, which may improve the performance of thewafer-level package structures.

An exemplary wafer-level packaging method may include: after etching afirst encapsulation layer to expose a chip back surface of a first chipwhich is used for a loading signal, forming a metal layer structurecovering the first chip exposed by the first opening, a bottom andsidewalls of the first opening and a top of the first encapsulationlayer; performing an alloying treatment on the chip back surface and themetal layer structure where the metal layer structure on the chip backsurface is used as a back metal layer; and forming a secondencapsulation layer covering the back metal layer. The back metal layermay be used as a back electrode of the first chip, which may load asignal (for example a ground signal) on the chip back surface suitablefor loading signals according to actual process requirements, and mayfurther improve the performance of wafer-level packaging structures.

To more clearly describe the objectives, features and advantages of thepresent disclosure, the present disclosure is further illustrated indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings in conjunction withembodiments.

FIGS. 1-7 illustrate structural schematics corresponding to structuresat certain stages of an exemplary wafer-level packaging method accordingto various disclosed embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a complimentary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)device wafer and a plurality of first chips 200 bonded to the devicewafer may be provided. The device wafer 100 may have a firstencapsulation layer 300 covering the first chips 200. The first chip 200may include a first chip front surface 201 with a formed first pad 210and a first chip back surface 202 opposite to the first chip frontsurface 201, where the first chip front surface 201 may face the devicewafer 100.

In one embodiment, the wafer-level packaging method may be used toimplement the wafer-level system-in-package. The device wafer 100 may bethe wafer for a device completion. The device wafer 100 may befabricated using an integrated circuit fabrication technology. Forexample, a device including an n-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor(NMOS) device or a p-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor (PMOS) device maybe formed on a semiconductor substrate using a process includingdeposition and etching etc., where structures including a dielectriclayer, a metal interconnection structure and a pad electricallyconnected to the metal interconnection structure may be formed on thedevice.

In one embodiment, a plurality of second chips 110 may be integrated inthe device wafer 100 and a second pad 120 may be formed in the secondchip 110, where the plurality of the second chips 110 may be the sametype or different types of chips.

In one embodiment, the second pad 120 may be a bond pad of the devicewafer 100 and may be used to implement an electrical connection betweenthe second chip 110 and other circuits.

It should be noted that, in one embodiment, in order to facilitateillustrations, three second chips 110 integrated in the device wafer 100are taken as an example for description, but the number of the secondchips 110 is not limited to three.

In one embodiment, a semiconductor substrate of the device wafer 10 maybe a silicon substrate. In other embodiments, the semiconductorsubstrate may be made of a material including germanium, silicongermanium, silicon carbide, gallium arsenide, indium gallium and/or anyother suitable material(s). The semiconductor substrate may also be madeof a material including a silicon substrate on an insulator, a germaniumsubstrate on an insulator, and/or any other suitable material(s). Thematerial of the semiconductor substrate may be a material suitable forprocess requirements or easy to integrate.

In one embodiment, the device wafer 100 may include a wafer frontsurface 101 exposing the second pad 120 and a wafer back surface 102opposite to the wafer front surface 101. The plurality of the firstchips 200 may be bonded to the wafer front surface 101 of the devicewafer 100. The wafer back surface 102 may refer to a bottom surface,which is away from the second pad 120, of the semiconductor substrate inthe device wafer 100.

The first chips 200 may the chips to-be-integrated and the first chips200 may be one or more components including active components, passivecomponents, microelectron-mechanical systems, and optical components.For example, the first chips 200 may be memory chips, communicationchips, processing chips, flash chips or logic chips. In otherembodiments, the first chips may also be other functional chips.

In one embodiment, the wafer-level packaging method may be used tocombine the plurality of the first chips 200 of different functions intoone packaging structure, so the plurality of the first chips 200 may beobtained by cutting a plurality of wafers of different functional types.In other embodiments, the functional types of the plurality of the firstchips may be the same according to actual processing requirements.

It should be noted that, in one embodiment, the wafer-level packagingmethod may be used to implement heterogeneous integration, so theplurality of the first chips 200 may be chips made of silicon wafers. Inother embodiments, the plurality of the first chips 200 may be alsochips made of other suitable materials.

The first chips 200 may have the same number of the second chips 110.The first chips 200 may have a one-to-one correspondence with the secondchips 110 and may have preset relative positional relationship. In oneembodiment, the projection of the first chip 200 on the device wafer 100may partially overlap with the second chip 110. In other embodiments,the first chip may also be aligned with the corresponding second chip,that is, the projection of the first chip on the device wafer maycoincide with the second chip.

The first chips 200 may be fabricated using an integrated circuitfabrication technology. The first chip 200 may generally include an NMOSdevice or a PMOS device formed on a semiconductor substrate, and mayfurther include structures including a dielectric layer, a metalinterconnection structure and a pad.

The first pad 210 may be formed in the first chip 200. The first chipfront surface 201 of the first chip 200 may expose the first pad 210 andthe first pad 210 may be used to implement an electrical connectionbetween the first chip 200 and other circuits. In one embodiment, thefirst pad may be a bond pad.

In one embodiment, the step of providing the device wafer 100 and theplurality of the first chips 200 bonded to the device wafer 100 mayinclude: bonding the first chips 200 to the device wafer 100 using afusion bonding process.

The fusion bonding may be a process that primarily uses interfacechemical force to complete the bonding. Using the fusion bondingprocess, the first chip front surface 201 and the wafer back surface 101may be bonded by covalent bonding, so the bonding strength between thedevice wafer 100 and the first chips 200 may be relatively high, whichmay improve the packaging yield. In other embodiments, the device waferand the first chips may be bonded by other bonding methods such asadhesive bonding and glass dielectric bonding.

The first encapsulation layer 300 may cover the first chips 200 and thewafer front surfaces 101 of the device wafer 100, which may be used forsealing and moisture proof. The first encapsulation layer 300 mayprotect the first chips 200 and the second chips 110, so it may reduce aprobability of the first chips 200 and the second chips 110 beingdamaged, contaminated or oxidized, which may facilitate optimizing ofthe performance of the obtained wafer-level packaging structure.

In one embodiment, the first encapsulation layer 300 may be made ofepoxy resin (Epoxy). Epoxy resin has advantages of low shrinkage, goodadhesion, good corrosion resistance, excellent electrical properties andlow cost, and is widely used a packaging material for electronic devicesand integrated circuits. In other embodiments, the first encapsulationlayer may be made of a thermosetting material including polyimide orsilica gel.

In one embodiment, the first encapsulation layer 300 may be formed by aninjection molding process. The injection molding process may have goodfilling performance, so that the first encapsulation layer 300 may bebetter filled between the plurality of the first chips 200 and have agood packaging on the first chips 200 and the second chips 110.

For example, the first encapsulation layer 300 may be formed by liquidmolding compounds or solid molding compounds by the injection moldingprocess. The first encapsulation layer 300 may have a wafer shape, and adiameter of the wafer-shaped encapsulation layer 300 may be the same asa diameter of the device wafer 100. In other embodiments, the firstencapsulation layer may be other suitable shapes and may be formed byother packaging processes.

Referring to FIG. 2 , the first encapsulation layer 300 may be etched. Afirst opening 301 exposing at least one first chip 200 may be formed inthe first encapsulation layer 300 and the first chip back surface 202exposed by the first opening 301 may be used for receiving one or moreloading signals.

By exposing the first chip back surface 202 for loading signals, aprocess basis may be provided for subsequent formation of the back metallayer on the first chip back surface 202, where the back metal layer maybe used as a back electrode of the first chip 200 which is used forreceiving the loading signal.

It should be noted that, in order to reduce the process difficulty ofetching the first encapsulation layer 300, the bottom of the firstopening 301 may expose a portion of the device wafer 100, so that thewafer front surface 101 may be used as a stop position.

In one embodiment, the loading signal may be a ground signal, that is,the back metal layer subsequently formed on the first chip back surface202 may be connected to a ground end, so that the first opening 301 maynot expose the second pad 120 of the second chip 110 to avoid affectingthe second chip 100 corresponding to the first chip 200.

For example, the first encapsulation layer 300 may be etched by a laseretching process.

The laser etching process may use a high-energy laser beam to irradiatea surface of a workpiece to-be-etched, which may melt, vaporize theworkpiece surface to form a trench with a certain depth to achieve thepurpose of etching. The laser etching process may achieve one-timeforming technology with different angles and patterns, without using amask plate. The laser etching process may have features including highetching yield rate, high stability, good flexibility, no supplies,simple operation, no contact, no pollution, high precision and low costetc. Using the laser etching process, a size of the first opening 301may be controlled precisely and the topography quality of the firstopening 301 may be improved, which may reduce the probability that theadjacent first chips 200 or second chips 110 may be exposed.

In other embodiments, the process of etching the first encapsulationlayer may also be a plasma etching process or a reactive ion etchingprocess.

Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 , FIG. 4 may be an enlarged view of themetal layer structure in the broken line box A in FIG. 3 , and the metallayer structure 400 may be formed by covering the first chip 200 exposedby the first opening 301, a bottom and sidewalls of the first opening301 and a top of the first encapsulation layer 300.

After a subsequent alloying treatment, the metal layer structure 400 onthe first chip back surface 202 may become a back metal layer, which maybe an electrode for loading ground signals.

In order to improve the performance of the subsequent metal layer andreduce the adverse effect on the first chip 200, the metal layerstructure 400 may have low contact resistance and thermal resistance,low thermal stress and high reliability. Furthermore, in order to ensureexcellent electrical performance, the metal layer structure 400 may haveexcellent conductive property and may be capable of forming an ohmiccontact with the first chip back surface 202.

In one embodiment, the metal layer structure 400 may be amultiple-layered metal structure, so that the properties of differentmetals may be utilized to make subsequently formed electrodes meetprocess requirements.

For example, the metal layer structure 400 may include a bottom metallayer 410, a transition metal layer 420 on the bottom metal layer, and atop metal layer 430 on the transition metal layer.

The material of the bottom metal layer 410 may be a low potentialbarrier material and the contact resistance with the first chip backsurface 202 may be relatively small. The material of the bottom metallayer 410 and the material of the first chip back surface 202 may havegood formed alloy properties, which may be used as an ohmic contactlayer.

In one embodiment, the material of the bottom metal layer 410 may be Ti.Ti and the material of the first chip back surface 202 may have goodformed alloy properties, which may form an ohmic contact easily and alsomay have low process difficulty to form relatively high purity Ti.Therefore, selecting Ti as the material of the bottom metal layer 410may also lower the process difficulty to form the metal layer structure400. Furthermore, the chemical and mechanical properties of Ti may berelatively stable and the material of the first chip back surface 202may have a good thermal matching with Ti, which may significantlyimprove the performance and reliability of the wafer-level packagingstructure.

In other embodiments, the bottom metal layer may also be made of amaterial including Cr, Al or V.

The greater the thickness of the bottom metal layer 410, the greater theresistance of the bottom metal layer 410. Therefore, the thickness ofthe bottom metal layer 410 may not be too large, otherwise theperformance and reliability of the wafer-level packaging structure maybe reduced easily and process resources may be wasted. However, thethickness of the bottom metal layer 410 may not be too small. If thethickness of the bottom metal layer 410 is too small, the effect of thesubsequent alloying treatment may be reduced easily, and the performanceand reliability of the wafer-level packaging structure may also bereduced accordingly. In one embodiment, the thickness of the bottommetal layer 410 may be of about 1000 Å to 5000 Å.

The top metal layer 430 may have features of low resistivity, stronganti-electromigration performance, stable performance and difficulty inoxidation etc., so the top metal layer may function as a conductivelayer, may protect the transition metal layer 420 and reduce theoxidation probability of the transition metal layer 420.

In one embodiment, the material of the top metal layer 430 may be Ag. Agmay be a material which is commonly used in the process and has a lowcost. Therefore, Ag may be selected as the material of the top metallayer 430, which may reduce the process difficulty and process cost. Inother embodiments, the material of the top metal layer may also be Au.

The thickness of the top metal layer 430 may be relatively large, whichmay effectively improve the protection on the transition metal layer 420and may improve the reliability of the back metal layer when a groundsignal is loaded on the subsequently formed back metal layer, so theperformance stability of the wafer-level packaging structure may beimproved; however, the thickness of the top metal layer 430 may not betoo large. If the thickness of the top metal layer 430 is too large, theresistance of the top metal layer 430 may be too large, which may reducethe performance and reliability of the wafer-level packaging structureand may waste process resources. In one embodiment, the thickness of thetop metal layer 430 may be of about 1000 Å to about 50000 Å.

The transition metal layer 420 may block the diffusion of the materialof the top metal layer 430 into the bottom metal layer 410, and theexpansion coefficient of the transition metal layer 420 may be betweenthe expansion coefficients of the top metal layer 430 and the bottommetal layer 410. The transition metal layer may have moderate electricalconductivity and thermal conductivity, which may achieve a good thermalmatching. In addition, the transition metal layer 420 may have goodadhesion with the bottom metal layer 410 and the top metal layer 430,which may have the advantage of the improvement of the formation qualityof the metal layer structure 400 and the reduced probability of fallingoff between the metal layers. In one embodiment, the material of thetransition metal layer 420 may be Ni.

Correspondingly, in order to perform an excellent thermal matching andblocking effect of the transition metal layer 420, the thickness of thetransition metal layer 420 may greater than the thickness of the bottommetal layer 410 and the thickness of the transition metal layer 420 maybe less than the thickness of the top metal layer 430. In oneembodiment, according to the thicknesses of the bottom metal layer 410and the top metal layer 430, the thickness of the transition metal layer420 may be of about 1000 Å to about 5000 Å.

Each of the bottom metal layer 410, the transition metal layer 420 andthe top metal layer 430 may be formed by one of an electroplatingprocess, a physical gas deposition process and an electron beamevaporation process. In order to improve the performance of the metallayer structure 400, the formation processes of the bottom metal layer410, the transition metal layer 420 and the top metal layer 430 may bethe same, which may ensure good quality and topography and may bettercontrol the thickness of each metal layer.

In one embodiment, the bottom metal layer, the transition metal layerand the top metal layer may be formed using the electroplating process,which may improve adhesion and mechanical strength of each metal layer.Correspondingly, the metal layer structure 400 may conformally cover thefirst chip 200, the bottom and sidewalls of the first opening 301 andthe top of the first encapsulation layer 300. In other embodiments, themetal layer structure may also be filled in the first opening.

Referring to FIG. 5 , the first chip back surface 202 and the metallayer structure 400 may perform an alloying treatment 440, and the metallayer structure 400 of the first chip back surface 202 may become a backmetal layer 450.

The back metal layer 450 may be used as an electrode for loading groundsignals. Itself resistance of the first chip 200 and a contactresistance of the electrode may be reduced by using the alloyingtreatment 440, and a ground resistance may be reduced correspondingly,which may reduce the loss of electrical energy and improve theperformance and reliability of the wafer-level packaging structure.

In one embodiment, the alloying treatment 440 may be an annealingprocess. At the temperature of the annealing process, the bottom metallayer 410 (shown in FIG. 4 ) and the material of the first chip backsurface 202 may mutually diffuse and react with each other at thecontact surface, and achieve alloying at the contact surface.

For example, the material of the bottom back metal layer 410 may be Ti.The semiconductor substrate of the first chip 200 may be a siliconsubstrate. Correspondingly, after the alloying treatment 440, a TiSialloy may be formed at the contact surface to form an ohmic contact.

In one embodiment, after the alloying treatment 440, the metal layerstructure 400 of the first chip back surface 202 may become the backmetal layer 450.

The processing temperature of the alloying treatment 440 may be not toolow or not too high. If the processing temperature is too low, aalloying rate between the bottom metal layer 410 and the first chip backsurface 202 may be slow, which may be disadvantageous to reduce contactresistance and may easily reduce the performance of the wafer-levelpackaging structure; and if the processing temperature is too high, itmay adversely affect the performance of devices in the first chips 200and the second chips 110, and may also easily reduce the performance ofthe wafer-level packaging structure. In one embodiment, the processingtemperature of the alloying treatment 440 may be of about 100° C. toabout 250° C.

The processing time of the alloying treatment 440 may be not too shortor not too long. If the processing time is too short, it may bedifficult to provide sufficient time for the alloying at the contactsurface of the bottom metal layer 410 and the first chip back surface202, which may be disadvantageous to reduce contact resistance and mayeasily reduce the performance of the wafer-level packaging structure;and if the processing time is too long, it may increase the thermalbudget and decrease the efficiency accordingly, and also may adverselyaffect the performance of devices in the first chips 200 and the secondchips 110. In one embodiment, the processing time of the alloyingtreatment 440 may be of about 30 min to about 160 min.

In one embodiment, by appropriately setting the process parameters ofthe alloying treatment 440 and coordinating the processing temperatureand the processing time, the efficiency of the alloying treatment may beimproved and the probability of negative effects may be reduced when thealloying is achieved efficiently.

It should be noted that, in one embodiment, the firstly formed metallayer structure 400 and the subsequently performed alloying treatment400 may be used as an example for description. In other embodiments, inthe step of forming the metal layer structure on the chip back surfaceexposed by the first opening, the metal layer structure may be a singlemetal layer. In one embodiment, the single metal layer may besubstantially same as the above described bottom metal layer.Correspondingly, after the alloying treatment, the method may furtherinclude: forming the transition metal layer on the bottom metal layer,forming the top metal layer on the transition metal layer, and using thetop metal layer, the transition metal layer and the bottom metal layerwith the alloying treatment as the back metal layer.

By performing the alloying treatment before the formation of thetransition metal layer and the top metal layer, it may be advantageousto reduce the difficulty of the alloying treatment, which may implementthe alloying treatment efficiently and significantly.

Referring to FIG. 6 , after the alloying treatment 440 (shown in FIG. 5), a second encapsulation layer 310 covering the back metal layer 450may be formed in the first opening 301 (shown in FIG. 5 ). The secondencapsulation layer 310 may also cover the metal layer structure 400 onthe top of the first encapsulation layer 300.

The second encapsulation layer 310 may be used to protect the metallayer structure 400 which is not alloyed and the back metal layer 450,which may prevent an external environment from affecting the metal layerstructure 400 and the back metal layer 450, and further avoid an impacton the performance of the wafer-level packaging structure.

The detailed description of the second encapsulation layer 310 shouldrefer to the above-mentioned corresponding description of the firstencapsulation 300, which is not described herein.

It should be noted that, after forming the second encapsulation layer310, the method may further include: thinning the device wafer 100 fromthe wafer back surface 102, and forming a silicon through holeinterconnection structure in the device wafer 100 after the thinningtreatment, which may be electrically connected to the second chip 110.In one embodiment, details may not be described herein.

Referring to FIG. 7 , in one embodiment, after forming the secondencapsulation layer 310, the method may further include: etching thesecond encapsulation layer 310, and forming a second opening 311exposing the back metal layer 450 in the second encapsulation layer 310.

After forming the second opening 311, the second opening 311 may exposethe back metal layer 450, which may achieve electrical connectionsbetween the back metal layer 450 and other circuits.

In one embodiment, the second opening 311 may expose a portion surfaceof the back metal layer 450. In other embodiments, according to theactual process, the second opening may expose the entire surface of theback metal layer.

In one embodiment, the second encapsulation layer 310 may be etched by alaser etching process. In other embodiments, the second encapsulationlayer may be etched by a plasma etching process or a reactive ionetching process.

The detailed process description for etching the second encapsulationlayer 310 may refer to the corresponding above-mentioned processdescription for etching the first encapsulation layer 300, and detailsmay be not described herein.

FIGS. 8-11 illustrate structural schematics corresponding to structuresat certain stages of another exemplary wafer-level packaging methodaccording to various disclosed embodiments of the present disclosure.

The similarity between the present embodiment and the previousembodiment may be not described herein. The difference between thepresent embodiment and the previous embodiment is: a loading signal maybe a voltage signal.

Correspondingly, referring to FIG. 8 , after etching an firstencapsulation layer 600, an opening 601 may be formed in the firstencapsulation layer 600, and the opening 601 may expose a second pad 420of a second chip 410.

Exposing the second pad 420 may provide a process basis for thesubsequent electrical connection between the first chip back surface 502of a first chip 500 and the second pad 420.

For example, forming the opening 601 may include: providing a devicewafer 400 and a plurality of first chips 500 bonded to the device wafer400; forming the first encapsulation layer 600 covering the first chips500 on the device wafer 400, where the first chip 500 may include afirst chip front surface 501 with a formed pad 510 and a first chip backsurface 502 opposite to the first chip front surface 501, and the firstchip front surface 501 may face the device wafer 400; etching the firstencapsulation layer 600 and forming the opening 601, exposing at leastone first chip 500, in the first encapsulation layer 600; and exposingthe second pad 420 of the second chip 410 corresponding to the firstchip 500 by the opening 601, where the first chip back surface 502exposed by the opening 601 may be used for loading a voltage signal.

In one embodiment, the first chips 500 may be bonded to the device wafer400 by a fusion bonding process, so that it may improve a bondingstrength between the device wafer 400 and the first chips 500, which maybe advantageous to improve the packaging yield and the performance ofthe wafer-level packaging structure correspondingly.

In one embodiment, the device wafer 400 may include a wafer frontsurface 401 exposing the second pad 420 and a wafer back surface 402opposite to the wafer front surface 401, and the plurality of the firstchips 500 may bonded to the wafer front surface 401 of the device wafer400.

It should be noted that, in the process of forming the device wafer 400,the wafer front surface 401 may expose the second pad 420 and a positionof the second pad 420 on the second chip 410 may be determined by aposition of the first chip 500 on the wafer front surface 401, so thatthe first chip 500 may expose the second pad 420 after the first chip500 is bonded to the device wafer 400. Correspondingly, after formingthe opening 601 in the first encapsulation layer 600, the opening 601may expose the second pad 420, which may reduce the process difficultyof exposing the second pad 420.

The detailed description of the device wafer 400, the first chips 500,the first encapsulation layer 600 and the opening 601 may refer to thecorresponding description in above-mentioned embodiment. Details may notbe described herein.

Referring to FIG. 9 , a metal layer structure 700 may be formed bycovering the first chip 500 exposed by the opening 601, a bottom andsidewalls of the opening 601 and a top of the first encapsulation layer600.

In one embodiment, the first chip back surface 502 of the first chip 500may be used for receiving a loading voltage, so the first chip backsurface 502 may be suitable for connecting to the second pad 420electrically, which may apply voltages to the first chip back surface502 through the second pad 420.

Correspondingly, during the formation of the metal layer structure 700,the metal layer structure 700 may be further formed on the surface ofthe second pad 420. The metal layer structure 700 may be connected tothe second pad 420 electrically, so the first chip back surface 502 andthe second pad 420 may be electrically connected through the metal layerstructure 700.

In one embodiment, the metal layer structure 700 may be formed by anelectroplating process. Correspondingly, the metal layer structure 700may conformally cover the first chips 500, the bottom and sidewalls ofthe opening 601 and the top of the first encapsulation layer 600.

The detailed description of the metal layer structure 700 may refer tothe corresponding description in the above-mentioned embodiment. Detailsmay be not described herein.

Referring to FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 , the first chip back surface 502 andthe metal layer structure 700 may perform an alloying treatment 710(shown in FIG. 10 ), and the metal layer structure 700 of the first chipback surface 502 may become a back metal layer 750 (shown in FIG. 10 );after the alloying treatment 710, a second encapsulation layer 610(shown in FIG. 11 ) covering the back metal layer 750 may be formed inthe opening 601. The second encapsulation layer 610 may also cover themetal layer structure 700 on the top of the first encapsulation layer600.

After the alloying treatment 710, a bottom metal layer (not shown) ofthe metal layer structure 700 and the material of the first chip backsurface 502 may mutually diffuse and react each other at a contactsurface to form an ohmic contact.

The second encapsulation layer 610 may cover the metal layer structure700 which is not alloyed and the back metal layer 750. The metal layerstructure 700 may be connected to the second pad 420 electrically, sothe first chip back surface 502 and external circuits may be connectedelectrically through the electrical connection between the second pad420 and external circuits, and voltage signals may be loaded on thefirst chip back surface 502.

The detailed description of the alloying treatment 710 and the secondencapsulation layer 610 may refer to the corresponding description inthe above-mentioned embodiment. Details may be not described herein.

Correspondingly, the present disclosure may provide a wafer-levelpackaging structure. Referring to FIG. 7 , it illustrates a structuralschematic of an exemplary wafer-level packaging structure of the presentdisclosure.

The wafer-level packaging structure may include: the device wafer 100;the plurality of first chips 200 bonded to the device wafer 100, wherethe first chip 200 may include the first chip front surface 201 with theformed first pad 210 and the first chip back surface 202 opposite to thefirst chip front surface 201, and the first chip front surface 201 mayface the device wafer 100; the first encapsulation layer 300 which is onthe device wafer 100 and covers the first chips 200, where the firstopening 301 (shown in FIG. 5 ) exposing at least one first chip 200 maybe formed in the first encapsulation layer 300 and the first chip backsurface 202 exposed by the first opening 301 may be used for receiving aloading signal; the metal layer structure 400 covering the first chip200 exposed by the first opening 301, the bottom and sidewalls of thefirst opening 301 and the top of the first encapsulation layer 300,where an alloying treatment may perform on the metal layer structure 400of the first chip back surface 202 and the first chip back surface 202,and the metal layer structure 400 of the first chip back surface 202 maybecome a back metal layer 450; and a second encapsulation layer 310,which may be in the first opening 301, may cover the back metal layer450, and may further cover the metal layer structure 400 on the top ofthe first encapsulation layer 300.

In one embodiment, the wafer-level packaging structure may be awafer-level system-in-package packaging structure. The device wafer 100may integrated in the wafer-level packaging structure.

The device wafer 100 may be the wafer for a device completion. Thedevice wafer 100 may be fabricated using an integrated circuitfabrication technology. For example, a device including an NMOS deviceor a PMOS device may be formed on a semiconductor substrate including aprocess including deposition and etching etc., and structures includinga dielectric layer, a metal interconnection structure and a padelectrically connected to the metal interconnection structure may beformed on the device.

In one embodiment, the plurality of second chips 110 may be integratedin the device wafer 100 and the second pad 120 may be formed in thesecond chip 110, where the plurality of the second chips 110 may be thesame type or different types of chips.

In one embodiment, the second pad 120 may be a bond pad of the devicewafer 100 and may be used to implement an electrical connection betweenthe second chip 110 and other circuits.

It should be noted that, in one embodiment, in order to facilitateillustrations, three second chips 110 integrated in the device wafer 100are taken as an example for description, but the number of the secondchips 110 is not limited to three.

In one embodiment, the device wafer 100 may include a wafer frontsurface 101 exposing the second pad 120 and a wafer back surface 102opposite to the wafer front surface 101. The plurality of the firstchips 200 may be bonded to the wafer front surface 101 of the devicewafer 100. The wafer back surface 102 may refer to a bottom surface,away from the second pad 120, of the semiconductor substrate in thedevice wafer 100.

The first chips 200 may integrated in the wafer-level packagingstructure. The first chips 200 may be one or more components includingactive components, passive components, microelectromechanical systems,and optical components. For example, the first chips 200 may be memorychips, communication chips, processing chips, flash chips or logicchips. In other embodiments, the first chips may also be otherfunctional chips.

In one embodiment, the plurality of the first chips 200 may be obtainedby cutting a plurality of wafers of different functional types. In otherembodiments, the functional types of the plurality of the first chipsmay be the same according to actual processing requirements.

It should be noted that, in one embodiment, the wafer-level packagingmethod may be used to implement heterogeneous integration, so theplurality of the first chips 200 may be chips made of silicon wafers. Inother embodiments, the plurality of the first chips 200 may be alsochips made of other suitable materials.

The first chips 200 may have the same number of the second chips 110.The first chips 200 may have a one-to-one correspondence with the secondchips 110 and may have preset relative positional relationship. In oneembodiment, the projection of the first chip 200 on the device wafer 100may partially overlap with the second chip 110.

In other embodiments, the first chip may also be aligned with thecorresponding second chip, that is, the projection of the first chip onthe device wafer may coincide with the second chip.

The first pad 210 may be formed in the first chip 200. The first chipfront surface 201 of the first chip 200 may expose the first pad 210 andthe first pad 210 may be used to implement an electrical connectionbetween the first chip 200 and other circuits. In one embodiment, thefirst pad may be a bond pad.

The first encapsulation layer 300 may cover the first chips 200 and thewafer front surfaces 101 of the device wafer 100, which may be used forsealing and moisture proof. The first encapsulation layer 300 mayprotect the first chips 200 and the second chips 110, so it may reduce aprobability of the first chips 200 and the second chips 110 beingdamaged, contaminated or oxidized, which may facilitate optimizing ofthe performance of the obtained wafer-level packaging structure.

In one embodiment, the first encapsulation layer 300 may be made ofepoxy resin (Epoxy). Epoxy resin has advantages of low shrinkage, goodadhesion, good corrosion resistance, excellent electrical properties andlow cost, and is widely used a packaging material for electronic devicesand integrated circuits. In other embodiments, the first encapsulationlayer may be made of a thermosetting material including polyimide orsilica gel.

For example, the first encapsulation layer 300 may be formed by aninjection molding process. The first encapsulation layer 300 may have awafer shape, and a diameter of the wafer-shaped encapsulation layer 300may be the same as a diameter of the device wafer 100. In otherembodiments, the first encapsulation layer may be other suitable shapes.

The first opening 301 may be formed in the first encapsulation layer 300and may expose the first chip back surface 202 which may be used forreceiving a loading signal, so that a position space for forming theback metal layer 450 may be provided. The first opening 301 may beformed by etching the first encapsulation layer 300. In order to reducethe process difficulty of forming the first opening 301, the bottom ofthe first opening 301 may expose the device wafer 100, so that the waferfront surface 101 may be used as a stop position.

In one embodiment, the back metal layer 450 may be used as an electrodefor loading ground signals. The back metal layer 450 may be formed byperforming the alloying treatment on the first chip back surface 202 andthe metal layer structure 400 of the first chip back surface 202, soitself resistance of the first chip 200 and a contact resistance of theelectrode may be small, and a ground resistance may be reducedcorrespondingly, which may reduce the loss of electrical energy andimprove the performance and reliability of the wafer-level packagingstructure.

In order to improve the performance of the back metal layer 450 andreduce the adverse effect on the first chip 200, the metal layerstructure 400 may have low contact resistance and thermal resistance,low thermal stress and high reliability. Furthermore, in order to ensuregood electrical performance, the metal layer structure 400 may have goodconductive performance and may be capable of forming an ohmic contactwith the first chip back surface 202.

In one embodiment, the metal layer structure 400 may be amultiple-layered metal structure, so that the properties of differentmetals may be utilized to make the back metal layer 450 meet processrequirements.

FIG. 4 may be an enlarged view of the metal layer structure. The metallayer structure 400 may include a bottom metal layer 410, a transitionmetal layer 420 on the bottom metal layer 410, and a top metal layer 430on the transition metal layer 420.

The material of the bottom metal layer 410 may be a low potentialbarrier material and the contact resistance with the first chip backsurface 202 may be small. The material of the bottom metal layer 410 andthe material of the first chip back surface 202 may have goodwettability, which may be used as an ohmic contact layer.

In one embodiment, the material of the bottom metal layer 410 may be Ti.Ti and the material of the first chip back surface 202 may have goodwettability, which may form an ohmic contact easily and may have lowprocess difficulty to form high purity Ti. Therefore, selecting Ti asthe material of the bottom metal layer 410 may also lower the processdifficulty to form the metal layer structure 400. Furthermore, thechemical and mechanical properties of Ti may be relatively stable andthe material of the first chip back surface 202 may have a good thermalmatching with Ti, which may significantly improve the performance andreliability of the wafer-level packaging structure.

In other embodiments, the bottom metal layer may also be made of amaterial including Cr, Al, V, or a combination thereof.

The greater the thickness of the bottom metal layer 410, the greater theresistance of the bottom metal layer 410. Therefore, the thickness ofthe bottom metal layer 410 may not be too large, otherwise theperformance and reliability of the wafer-level packaging structure maybe reduced easily and process resources may be wasted. However, thethickness of the bottom metal layer 410 may not be too small. If thethickness of the bottom metal layer 410 is too small, the quality andthe performance of the back metal layer 450 may be reduced, and theperformance and reliability of the wafer-level packaging structure maybe reduced correspondingly. In one embodiment, the thickness of thebottom metal layer 410 may be of about 1000 Å to 5000 Å.

The top metal layer 420 may have features of low resistivity, stronganti-electromigration performance, stable performance and difficulty inoxidation etc., so the top metal layer may function as a conductivelayer, may protect the transition metal layer 420 and reduce theoxidation probability of the transition metal layer 420.

In one embodiment, the material of the top metal layer 420 may be Ag. Agmay be a material which is commonly used in the process and has a lowcost. Therefore, Ag may be selected as the material of the top metallayer 420, which may reduce the process difficulty and process cost.

In other embodiments, the material of the top metal layer may also beAu.

The thickness of the top metal layer 430 may be relatively large, whichmay effectively improve the protection on the transition metal layer 420and may improve the reliability of the back metal layer when a groundsignal is loaded on the back metal layer 450, so performance stabilityof the wafer-level packaging structure may be improved; however, thethickness of the top metal layer 430 may not be too large. If thethickness of the top metal layer 430 is too large, the resistance of thetop metal layer 430 may be too large, which may reduce the performanceand reliability of the wafer-level packaging structure and may wasteprocess resources. In one embodiment, the thickness of the top metallayer 430 may be of about 1000 Å to about 50000 Å.

The transition metal layer 420 may block the diffusion of the materialof the top metal layer 430 into the bottom metal layer 410, and theexpansion coefficient of the transition metal layer 420 may be betweenthe expansion coefficients of the top metal layer 430 and the bottommetal layer 410. The transition metal layer may have moderate electricalconductivity and thermal conductivity, which may achieve a good thermalmatching. In addition, the transition metal layer 420 may have goodadhesion with the bottom metal layer 410 and the top metal layer 430,which may have the advantage of the improvement of the formation qualityof the metal layer structure 400 and the reduced probability of fallingoff between the metal layers. In one embodiment, the material of thetransition metal layer 420 may be Ni.

Correspondingly, in order to perform a good thermal matching andblocking effect of the transition metal layer 420, the thickness of thetransition metal layer 420 may greater than the thickness of the bottommetal layer 410 and the thickness of the transition metal layer 420 maybe less than the thickness of the top metal layer 430. In oneembodiment, according to the thicknesses of the bottom metal layer 410and the top metal layer 430, the thickness of the transition metal layer420 may be of about 1000 Å to about 5000 Å.

In one embodiment, the back metal layer 450 may be formed by performingthe alloying treatment on the first chip back surface 202 and the metallayer structure 400 of the first chip back surface 202, so the backmetal layer 450 may also include a bottom metal layer 410, a transitionmetal layer 420 on the bottom metal layer 410, and a top metal layer 430on the transition metal layer 420, and the alloying treatment may beperformed on the bottom metal layer 410 and the first chip back surface202 and the contact surface between the bottom metal layer 410 and thefirst chip back surface 202 may contain an alloy (not shown).

For example, the material of the bottom back metal layer 410 may be Ti.The semiconductor substrate of the first chip 200 may be a siliconsubstrate. Correspondingly, the contact surface between the bottom metallayer 410 and the first chip back surface 202 may contain the TiSi alloyto form an ohmic contact.

In one embodiment, the metal layer structure 400 may conformally coverthe first chip 200, the bottom and sidewalls of the first opening 301and the top of the first encapsulation layer 300. In other embodiments,the metal layer structure may also be filled in the first opening.

The second encapsulation layer 310 may be used to protect the metallayer structure 400 and the back metal layer 450, which may prevent anexternal environment from affecting the metal layer structure 400 andthe back metal layer 450 and further avoid an impact on the performanceof the wafer-level packaging structure.

In one embodiment, the first chip back surface 202 exposed by the firstopening 301 may be used for receiving a loading ground signal. Thewafer-level packaging structure may further include: the second opening311, exposing the back metal layer 450, in the second encapsulationlayer 310.

The electrical connection between the back metal layer 450 and othercircuits may be achieved through exposing the back metal layer 450 bythe second opening 311.

In one embodiment, the second opening 311 may expose a portion surfaceof the back metal layer 450. In other embodiments, according to theactual process, the second opening may expose the entire surface of theback metal layer.

The detailed description of the second encapsulation layer 310 may referto the corresponding above-mentioned description of the firstencapsulation layer 300, and details may be not described herein.

It should be noted that, in one embodiment, the device wafer 100 may bethe wafer after the thinning treatment, and the device wafer 100 afterthe thinning treatment may have the formed silicon through holeinterconnection structure (not shown), which may be electricallyconnected to the second chip 110. In one embodiment, details may not bedescribed herein.

In one embodiment, the wafer-level packaging structure may be formedusing the wafer-level packaging method described in the first embodimentor may be formed using other packaging methods. In one embodiment, thedetailed description of the wafer-level packaging structure may refer tothe corresponding description in the above-mentioned embodiments, anddetails may be not described herein.

FIG. 11 illustrates a structural schematic of another exemplarywafer-level packaging structure of the present disclosure.

The similarity between the present embodiment and the previousembodiment may be not described herein. The difference between thepresent embodiment and the previous embodiment is: a loading signal maybe a voltage signal.

Correspondingly, the opening 601 (shown in FIG. 10 ) in the firstencapsulation layer 600 may expose the second pad 420, and the metallayer structure 700 may on the surface of the second pad 420.

The metal layer structure 700 and the second pad 420 may be connectedelectrically, so the first chip back surface 502 and the second pad 420may be electrically connected through the metal layer structure 700, andvoltages may be loaded on the back metal layer 700 through the secondpad 420 and may be loaded on the first chip back surface 502.

In one embodiment, the wafer-level packaging structure may be formedusing the wafer-level packaging method described in the secondembodiment or may be formed using other packaging methods. In oneembodiment, the detailed description of the wafer-level packagingstructure may refer to the corresponding description in theabove-mentioned embodiments, and details may be not described herein.

In the present disclosure, the wafer-level packaging method may include:after etching a first encapsulation layer to expose a chip back surfaceof a first chip which is used for receiving a loading signal, forming ametal layer structure covering the first chip exposed by the firstopening, a bottom and sidewalls of the first opening and a top of thefirst encapsulation layer; performing an alloying treatment on the chipback surface and the metal layer structure where the metal layerstructure on the chip back surface is used as a back metal layer; andforming a second encapsulation layer covering the back metal layer. Theback metal layer may be used as a back electrode of the first chip,which may load a signal (for example a ground signal) on the chip backsurface suitable for receiving the loading signals according to actualprocess requirements, and may further improve the performance ofwafer-level packaging structures.

Optionally or additionally, in the present disclosure, a plurality ofsecond chips are formed in the device wafer and a second pad is formedon a surface of the second chip of the plurality of second chips facingthe first chip; after etching the first encapsulation layer, the firstopening exposes the second pad and the metal layer structure is alsoformed on a surface of the second pad. The electrical connection betweenthe chip back surface of the first chip and the second chip may beachieved by the metal layer structure and the back metal layer, so avoltage signal may be applied to the chip back surface through thesecond chip.

The embodiments disclosed herein are exemplary only. Other applications,advantages, alternations, modifications, or equivalents to the disclosedembodiments are obvious to those skilled in the art and are intended tobe encompassed within the scope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. The wafer-level packaging structure, comprising:a device wafer; a plurality of first chips, bonded to the device wafer,wherein the first chip of the plurality of first chips includes a chipfront surface with a formed first pad and a chip back surface oppositeto the chip front surface, and the chip front surface faces the devicewafer; a first encapsulation layer, formed on the device wafer andcovering the first chips, wherein the first encapsulation layer has afirst opening exposing at least one first chip of the plurality of firstchips and the chip back surface exposed by the first opening isconnected to a loading signal; a metal layer structure, covering the atleast one first chip exposed by the first opening, a bottom andsidewalls of the first opening and a top of the first encapsulationlayer, wherein the metal layer structure includes a back metal layeralloyed with the chip back surface by an alloying treatment between thechip back surface and a portion of the metal layer structure on the chipback surface; and a second encapsulation layer, formed in the firstopening, covering the back metal layer, and further covering the metallayer structure on the top of the first encapsulation layer.
 2. Thestructure according to claim 1, wherein: the loading signal is one of aground signal and a voltage signal.
 3. The structure according to claim1, wherein: the loading signal is a ground signal; and the secondencapsulation layer contains a second opening therein to expose the backmetal layer.
 4. The structure according to claim 1, wherein: the loadingsignal is a voltage signal; a plurality of second chips are formed inthe device wafer and a second pad is formed on a surface of the secondchip of the plurality of second chips facing the first chip; the firstopening exposes the second pad; and the metal layer structure is alsoformed on a surface of the second pad.
 5. The structure according toclaim 1, wherein: the metal layer structure includes a bottom metallayer, a transition metal layer on the bottom metal layer and a topmetal layer on the transition metal layer.
 6. The structure according toclaim 5, wherein: the bottom metal layer is made of a material includingTi, Cr, Al, V, or a combination thereof; the transition metal layer ismade of a material including Ni; and the top metal layer is made of amaterial including Ag, Au, or a combination thereof.
 7. The structureaccording to claim 5, wherein: a thickness of the bottom metal layer isof about 1000 Å to about 5000 Å; a thickness of the transition metallayer is of about 1000 Å to about 5000 Å; and a thickness of the topmetal layer is of about 1000 Å to about 50000 Å.